THE PROFOUNDLY MYSTICAL NATURE OF THE MISSION

The final word Jesus says to the Eleven after having

en-trusted to them the missionary mandate is a word of re-assur-ance:

"I

am with you always; yes, to the end of tirne".

It

^{is a}

great promise which serves as a ^guarantee of encouragement and a reason for confidence, In

it

there is the echo of the

sup-port which God has also guaranteed

in

the Old Testament to those He had called for a special vocation: "Do not be afraid, I am with you". In

it

^is seen above all the identity of Jesus. who from the beginning of Matthew's Gospel, in the infancy narra-tives is presented as Emmanuel, "God with us". The events of the passion, death and resurrection ofJesus have not therefore

24 Acrs oF THE GENERAL couNctL

removed his presence from history, not his desire to stay close

to those who shortly before had not stayed close to him; the commitment of the Risen One to be with them has been made

definitive and permanent, in time and space,

until

the end of time.

We are certainly conscious of how much consolation and how much strength come from these words. For someone who knows himself to be and wants to be one of those sent by Him, every day of his life opens and closes

in

the light of a re-as-suring presence, stronger than any loneliness and any fear. The joy of a life of chastity of one who lives awaiting the best of Lovers, the wealth of ^one who renounces earthly ^goods while not failing to seek "souls", the freedom of our obedience which makes us similar to our Lord all find here their most authentic foundation, and

it

is precisely of this mystery that they are meant to ^be a visible and eloquent sign. Christ is with us, and

fills our Iife to overflowing. The inner fulness which flows from

this

is indeed the true treasure of the missionary, and the greatest gift that he can hand on to those to whom he is sent.

Nothing is more persuasive or convincing than a person who, representing the Lord Jesus in his very being, shows himself to be filled with His luminous presence, even to the extent of letting Him appear in the serenity of his face, in the depth of his ^gaze, in the humility of his manner, in the sincerity of his words and actions. As Jesus was for the apostles the image and visible presence of the Father so the true missionary is called to be the transparent image of the Risen Lord. And this he can be because Christ really is with him, in a companionship so close

that

it

becomes a real inhabitation: the apostle, like Paul can declare:

"I

live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me" (Ga|2,20).

In

this way the mission

truly

^reaches the mystical depth appropriate to it. From the very beginning in fact, summoning the Twelve, Jesus appointed them: "to be his companions and to be sent out to preach" (Mk 3,L4). We all know from personal

THE RECTOR MAJOR 25

experience how easy

it

is to feel in the practical circumstances of our lives a certain tension between these two things, and how

it

is ^possible to fluctuate with a sort of interior division between prayer and works, contemplation and action,

dedica-tion to God and giving oneself for others. Now from the very start of the call of the Twelve these two aspects are presented together, and closely connected one

with

the other: only by being in a close personal relationship with Jesus is

it

possible to reflect for others his presence and to really be bearers of his Word.

The one who has

first

heard

it

can take the Word to the world, as Mary did

in

the house of Elizabeth. The one who stays beside Him becomes the brother of Jesus, fully occupied

in listening to His word.

In

no way can staying with Jesus be understood as something one does from ^{time to} time in between activities. The _{Gospel of} John is very clear in this regard, when

it

speaks about the absolute necessity of remaining

in

Him, since without Him one can do nothing. And

in

fact, precisely because of the new experience of the resurrection, by which the presence of Christ ^pervades all time and every place, the close connection between prayer and proclamation becomes

percep-tible in

a new way. Contemplation and witnessing become closely intertwined and refer one to the other in a way similar to that of the two-fold beating of our heart.

Naturally

in

the personal experience of every missionary, this close identification of prayer with proclamation is never the starting point but rather the goal to be reached.

It

requires an adequate process of formation and constant interior vigi-lance. Only in this way will

it

be possible to avoid a false spiri-tualism, which detracts from apostolic work and ^gives a false impression of closeness to God which the facts deny; at the same time one can overcome an empty activism, which only results in emptying the life of the disciple, and may even lead

to him grving up. The fundamental requirement and the very heart of the mission therefore consists in learning the supreme

26 Acrs oF THE GENERAL couNctL

art,

that

^{of living}

in

^Jesus, under his Dominion, profoundly identifred with Him, with His thoughts, making His word ^one's own nourishment.

Asking himself about the way ahead for the Church in the Third Millennium following the celebration of the Great Ju-bilee, John Paul

II

wrote in the Apostolic Letter Nouo Millennio Ineunte;

"We put the question with trusting optimism, but without underestimating the problems we face. ^We are certainly not seduced by tlte naiue expectation that, _faced with the great challenges of our time, we shall find ^{some magic} formula.

No,we shall not be saued by a formula ^but by a Person, and the assurance which he giues us:

I

^am with ^you!

It

is not therefore a matter of inuenting

a

^"new progranxme". The prograntnxe already exists:

it is

the

plan

_found

in

^the

Gospel and in the liuing Tradition,

it

is ^the sarne as ^euer.

[Jltimately,

it

has its centre in Christ himself, ^who is to be

hnown, loued and irnitated, so that in him ^{we rnay liue the} life of the Trinity, and with him transform history until its fulfilment in the heauenly Jerusalem. This is a programme which does not change with shifts of times and cultures, euen though

it

takes account of time and culture for ^the

sake of true dialogue and effectiue communication. This prograrrlnxe for

all

times is our programnxe for ^{the Third} Millennium.6

He then continues indicating for the Church the urgent

need to draw up ^plans for a pedagory ofholiness, as the "high standard of ordinary Christian

liuing",'

on the basis of the conviction

that

"this is the

will

of God, your sanctification"

(1Ts 4,3). He himself was aware of the objection that might be raised that such an approach could seem too generic and too elevated as the basis of pastoral planning, but with ^great clarity

u JoHN PAUL II, Nouo Millennio Ineunte,29.

7 lbid,31.

THE RECTOR MAJOR 27

he replies that only by taking this approach seriously and

con-sistently can a way be found to solve the various problems of pastoral life. Holiness cannot be tacked on at a later stage to an apostolic plan based on other criteria, but needs to be the fun-damental inspiration behind all pastoral thinking, otherwise the real danger of getting lost in pointless discussions and idle speculation which do not reflect the mind of God becomes only too real.

Conelusion

My dear confreres, nowadays the criticism is sometimes made of consecrated life that

it

^provides many services but offers little holiness. Perhaps

it

is precisely about this that we need to examine ourselves, so that our Salesian Family, our apostolic communities may be true schools in which in a

prac-tical way the art of holiness is learned, that is, the art of living a ^genuine Christian life as our Holy Founder Don Bosco prac-tised

it

and passed

it

on to us.

In those places where we find ourselves living, as disciples and apostles we are called to be saints. Everywhere the mission is taking on new tasks; it requires individuals and communities in love with Jesus and courageous in their witness and service.

Everywhere, but especially to Europe, the Congregation is now

turning

its

attention and employing its best forces.

It

^{is the}

time of the mission! May genuine missionary vocations, holy and generous, continue to be raised up among us; may we help to produce among the young and the lay missionary volunteers disciples and apostles.

Together with you I entrust this missionary commitment of the Congregation to Mary Help of Christians, Mother of the Church. She has always been present

in

our history and her presence and her help will not be lacking at this time. As in the Upper Room, Mary expert in the ways of the Spirit, will teach

28 ^A?TS oF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

us to allow ourselves to be guided by Him "to ^{discover the} will

of God, and know what is good, what

it

is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do" (Rm 12,2b).

With great affection, respect and gratitude

*W"ffi ^7a

Nel documento of the General Council of the Salesian Society (pagine 23-28)